9/14/2010

Hey family and friends!

Well life continues to go well here in Chihuahua with my companion Elder Avendaño. We get along very very well and so it makes everything so much more easy. He is relatively new in the mission and so I have been trying to teach him all of the good things I have learned in the mission. He is very willing to learn all he can and is a great missionary. It is funny because he thinks I am the best missionary in the world and is always really grateful. But, the truth is that he teaches me SO SO very much. He is a great example of some humble and diligent and a hard worker. He is also very patient at times as I am sure he needs it to be my companion...! I was meaning to send a picture this week, but once again we forgot... sorry. I will send one next week.

The area is okay, there are a lot of new homes, the little same cement houses the government builds, and so there always seems to be young new families to teach. ´We have a few people ready to be baptized in the next two weeks so we are excited to see how that goes. The ward is very excited about missionary work right now and I seem to get along with them very well. We are trying to gain their confidence because the ward has a not so good reputation on missionaries here to be honest. President Flores used to put all of the problematic missionaries here to try and keep an eye on them so a lot of the ward members did not have too much confidence in us at first, but now that we have been working hard and getting to know them things are changing. We also asked of a sacrament meeting to speak in and not this Sunday but the next we are going to speak and we also have October 1st set aside for an activity we are going to do with the ward. I also really seem to get along well with the bishop, which is the key to success! We have been gaining his confidence and he has gotten excited about all that we are going to be able to accomplish.

I never tell anyone how much time I have in the mission or when I come home because all they do is mention it all the time... After being with 5 of my companions as they ended the mission, I have learned that it is best to tell them that I have a little over a year in the mission...! That way they know we are ready to go all out. :)

The Zone is doing well and we have a number of baptisms for the next coming weeks as a zone so we will see how it goes for this month. I really like the district leaders that we have in the zone so that makes things a lot easier. Oh and this past week we had divisions with the district leader Elder Weiss, he has like 13 months in the mission and so I went to train him how to be a district leader and such. It went well and his area I where the big university is in Chihuahua and it was cool to see it. Plus I have always taught mainly young adults in the mission so it was cool to teach them again because a lot of their investigators are young adult guys.

We also had a meeting with the stake president this week and it went really well. He is named President Gabaldon and is really willing to work with us and plan activities and such. We planned an activity for October that we had in mind and he is willing to give us the support of the stake. We are going to have a Sunday night devotional and invite the mission president to speak along with the stake president and we are going to sing as a choir, well all of the missionaries in the zone. It should be really good and I will write you more about it as well learn more plans and start to practice for the devotional.

Oh and on Sunday a group of young adults came to church and one of the girls brought her boyfriend who is not a member. He 24 and studying a master’s degree, so that is cool and he are excited to learn more and really like the classes at church. The family that brought him is a family of 3 kids who are studying here but they are from Casas Grandes, the Mormon colonies, so they are speaking perfect English! Ha-ha! One of the brothers just got back from the mission in may and he lives with his two sisters here while he is studying. Í am excited because like I said I like teaching young adult guys, between the age of 19 and 26. I am not sure why, but I seem to get along with them best and the gospel changes the whole future of their lives at that age.

All goes well and I love the mission and have never been so dedicated. I am giving my all and thanks for all of the love and support!

Love,

Elder Andrew Davidson

9/6/2010

Hey everyone!

So there are SO many things to tell all of you, but like always there is little time.... but here it goes

On Tuesday I changed areas..... I am now in the city of Chihuahua! I realize now how much I missed the city to be honest now that I am here again! I am here in an area called Revolution in the Technology Stake, that is the name... ha-ha! It doesn’t sound so weird in Spanish....!

My companions name is Elder Avendaño, he is so cool! I Love him already! He is so excited to be with me as he had a really bad last comp. He only has 6 months in the mission and so he is really excited to learn and work hard! He has taught me so much and is a great worker! He calls me his "dad" He tells me in English that "you are my dad" We have worked very hard together have had so many great spiritual experiences together. It feels cool to be with a comp that is really glad to be with me and he makes me want to be so much better and try so much harder here in the mission. It makes me want to be everything he thinks I am. :) We are going to make a great team and he is going to be an amazing elder here in the mission! To say it all in few words, we help each other to maintain the constant companion of the Holy Ghost, which is the source of ALL good and happiness in the mission life! :)

The ward is bigger and MUCH more active. I am a very active missionary and so the members all seem to be real happy to have me here, plus the zone leader of Chihuahua has never been in this ward before either so the house is not so great. Well it s a nice house and all but we don’t have plates of cups or bowls or pillows..... ha-ha! In the zone leader’s houses there always seems to be more stuff because that is where a lot of missionaries seem to end their mission.

t was sad to leave Cuauhtémoc and my ex comp, but I know the Lord has great things in store for me here and I have a lot to learn. I also love how close everything is together here in the zone, since I am in the city I can do more stuff together and I can meet more with all of the missionaries in the zone. Today actually we had the district meeting together with the whole zone and we are going to do the same the first p-day of every month. It went well and it allowed me to gain the confidence of all of the missionaries together so we can work together better.

I am sad to leave my old zone because things were going so well there. I had my good buddies as district leaders and so it was So easy to work together. I was in the Chuviscar Zone before and in the Zone leader conference we had in Thursday this past week President told us we got 2nd place in the whole mission :) The East Zone in Juarez beat us, but I had the Sierras where it is a lot harder to baptize and so we were happy with what we achieved. But I feel like there is a TON of potential in the zone I left this month! So I feel good leaving the area and knowing I was able to help do my part. :) It was also a lot of fun to see all of the new zone leaders in the mission and they are all good Friends! Cool no? I knew a lot of them from the old zone and they have all progressed so much and the mission is in great hands. Oh and my buddy Elder Killpack also changed areas to here in Chihuahua but now he is a zone leader :) 4 new zone leaders left the zone with me so that is also good news and good to hear. They are all excellent missionaries and going to achieve a lot in the mission :)

We have had a lot of spiritual experiences this past week and I feel like this is the time in which I need to apply ALL I have learned and we hope to have a lot of success here in the zone. Today I had to tell you all about the new changes and such but in the following weeks I will tell you about all of the great spiritual experiences we have each day! We already have new people to baptize and I will try to send pix in the upcoming weeks. Oh and we have a meeting with the stake president this week and so we hope to plan a great activity as a stake with the mission president and all and we are also going to plan a big Christmas activity as well with all the stakes of chihuahua and invite a general authority and all :) I will let you know as it all unfolds!

I love you all so much and can’t wait to hear from you all!

Love

Elder Andrew Davidson

8/30/10

Hey everyone!

So another fast week has gone by! We had a very successful week and I feel like we were able to put into play everything we have learned from the mission president has taught us.

Oh so last week I got a letter from my convert from Juarez, Priscilla, and she is doing SO well and is a counselor in the relief society in her ward! She helps the missionaries out a TON and feeds them and goes to all of the baptisms! Cool huh! She also talked about entering the temple and said she is going to tell me when she is going through the temple so that I can go with her!

So my best convert from Cuauhtémoc left to go to Torreon again… sad! But her husband finally opened up his heart and is accepting the gospel and accepted the invitation to be baptized. It will be cool to hear from them after the mission!

This week we had stake conference and it went well here. The mission president came and he is super powerful when he talks so that was nice to see the members a bit more excited

My companion and I are getting along great and he is growing a lot. He is newer in the mission and I love have a newer companion and teaching him everything helps me to remember all I have learned and to put it into play.

We are going to have changes tonight and the mission president told me that I am going to change so I will tell you next Monday where I am at. I am sad to leave Cuauhtémoc as I have come to love the people and the members. Plus we have so many cool investigators right now!

Oh and the El Paso address is open again! You can send me stuff through El Paso. The address is this one:

Elder Andrew Davidson

2220 BASSETT AVE

PMB 106

EL PASO, TEXAS 79901-2020

So you can send me stuff there until the end of my mission in case you want to send letters or packages. Oh and I turn 21 on Wed, the first of September!

Love you all and thanks for the love and support!

Elder Andrew Davidson

8/23/10

Hey!

WOW! So much has happened since the last time that I was able to write you all! Last week we did not have too much time to write.... well actually we did not get to write because the mission president had a 4 day all mission conference! Cool huh!? All of the Zone leaders and the district leaders and the trainers from the whole mission were invited along with the entire sister missionaries! There we about 50 missionaries there all in all. We all went to Chihuahua and stayed in the mission offices with all the missionaries. We left Sunday night to go there and we didn’t come home until Friday morning! On Sunday night it was SO cool to see all the missionaries! I got to see so many friends and companions! It was so great to catch up with everyone! Plus Priscilla, my convert from Juarez, wrote me along with a few others. Then over the next 4 days, the mission president trained us about the new stuff we need to teach and how to teach. Well it was not too new to be honest; it was the same stuff, just more focused in. We had 4 days of conferences from 8am to 6pm everyday! I learned SO much and they were some of the 4 most spiritual days I have had here in the mission to be honest. There is SO SO SO much to tell and so little time to write.... sorry! But I will tell you all about it later, sorry!

These last 3 days here have been great and I am loving life! That seems to be the story of the mission, ups and downs...The zone is going great and we are ending August really well, and I really like ALL of my 4 district leaders! I am such great friends with all of them and it makes working together SO dang easy. We have a lot of work here in Cuauhtémoc and we have had great spiritual experiences to be honest!

We met a guy named Lehi the other day! Ha-ha! We showed him where his name comes from and he is ways excited to read the Book of Mormon :)

I have never felt so much spiritual power in my life and I am excited to keep on learning and growing!

Thanks for all the love and support and sorry that I can’t write more!

Love you

Elder Andrew Davidson

8/9/2010

Hey family and friends!

So this week was another good week here in Cuauhtémoc and everything seems to be going well. I wrote a lot to the family and so I don't have all too much time to write this email since this week is the big week of the wedding and all! :)

We now teach the Doctrine of Christ in the first lesson from 2 Nephi 31 and 3 Nephi 11. So we share part of one of these chapters with the investigators and we follow the spirit and teach them based on their needs. There is now no order like lesson 1, 2 , or 3 and we teach them depending on what they need to be able to progress. We now focus teaching about baptism and preparing to be baptised! It has been cool to put this into play this week and see all the success we have had! :) I have never had so many spiritual lessons in the mission and it helps us to be so much more aware of the spirit as we teach. Plus it helps us to know who are the people we need to be teaching because if they do not want to get baptised and follow Christ we don't teach them.... they reject us quickly ha-ha!. It helps us find the people that are ready to be taught :)

Kevin and Paula are investigators of ours who are progressing a lot right now! I contacted Kevin on a splits like 3 weeks ago and we finally have been able to make good appointments to teach him this past week. They came to church this week and they loved it,. They have a lot of family problems and so they LOVE how the church focuses on families. They have to get married before they can get baptised so it wont be a super fast the baptism, but they are ready! :)

Brenda was baptised on Saturday and confirmed yesterday and I was able to perform the baptism. She did not want to go under the water and so I took three tries to finally get here under the water....I had to almost push her under as we got close to the water! (ha-ha)

All goes well here and the learning is always great. I have been praying and fasting a lot for humility and patience this past week and for the opportunity to recognize moments to learn these attributes and so sure enough the Lord has given me a TON in the past few days... guess it is my fault for asking.... !

The other cool part is that I have received a lot of spiritual confirmations about Danielle getting married. I know it is going to be an amazing experience and I am proud and excited! The spirit has comforted me a lot and to be honest I don't feel sad or left out at all. In the end this is how the Lord wants things to be. I hope you all get to go to the wedding and enjoy it! I am VERY PROUD of my sister! :)

Oh and just to remind you to NOT send packages to El Paso anymore. My birthday is coming up and in case people were going to send stuff make sure to send it directly to Mexico and make sure it is a safe source. Oh and if you want ideas of what to send I would like nice Sunday ties. :) I have a ties to use each day, but on Sunday and for conferences I have nicer ties I use only on those days. Thanks! :)

Love you all so much and I hope all goes well this week!

Love, Elder Andrew Davidson

8/3/10

Hey everyone!

So this week was a much better week to be honest! Everything is going well and right now I am super excited because we had an amazing zone leader conference yesterday in Chihuahua with the mission president and all.

So my comp elder Gallegos and I have gotten along really well to be honest. We have come to become much better friends than I could have imagined right now. I always try to be really good friends with my companion because if not life is not to fun at all. I thought it was going to be harder with elder Gallegos but things seem to be going well. :)

So there is a TON of work to do right now in the area, but there is also a ton of baptismal interviews so we had to travel a lot this past week. Every district leader in the zone baptized and so I had to leave like 3 of the 7 days of the week. Plus when I have to do baptismal interviews they are like 2 hours or more away..... But the Lord blesses us when we cannot be in the area. The zone is going really well right now and we are on track to break the month record here :) We are one of the top baptizing zones right now as well which is cool because the 4 Juarez zones or Chihuahua are ALWAYS in the top 5. :)

Like I mentioned we had a great conference yesterday about the new way we are going to teach here in the mission. The first presidency has changed the lesson order and the normal order is now going to be different. Pte Angulo is SUPER excited and WAY prepared and the whole mission is super pumped right now! The mission Mexico Chihuahua is going to change SO much is the next 3 years and I am sure it is going to be the highest baptizing mission in Mexico :) The mission president knows what he wants to achieve and how to achieve it and is ready to do all he needs to. Plus his goals are not numbers but success. To be honest I am sad that I am no longer going to be here for much time and it is going to be so cool to be here in like months and have the 2 years to be with the new mission president! Plus it seems like Elder Scott is going to come in a year or so AND the area president Elder Johnson comes by a lot because he is from here! Cool huh?! I wish I still had another 2 years left!

This Thursday we have our zone conference and I am excited to share all we learned with the zone and to learn how to become better teachers. The new way to teach focuses a lot on the spirit and our ability to receive revelation for each and every one of the people we teach. I am excited and I will tell you how it goes this week.

Oh and just a reminder that my pday is now going to be on Monday from now on. So don't forget to write me by Monday morning!

Thanks again for your love and support and I hope to hear from you soon!

Love

Elder Andrew Davidson